Coupler for locomotives and tenders



L. E. OSBORNE ET AL COUPLER Fon LocoMoT-IVE'S AND TENDERS Filed March28. 1924 II.. III..

INVENTORS WITNESSESS Patented Apr. 14, 1925.

UNITED STATES 1,533,135 PATENTv OFFICE..

-LONNIE E. OSBOBNE AND NATHAN M. LOWER, OF BELLEVUE, PENNSYLVANIA,AS

SIG-NORS TO FRANKLIN RAILWAY SUPPLY COMPANY, OF NEW`YORK, N. Y.,VA COR-PORATION OF DELAWARE.

CO'U'PLER FOR LOCOMOTIVES AND TENDERS.

` Application filed March 28, 1924. Serial No. 702,529.

To all whom t 'may concern.'

Be it known that we, LoNNiii E. OsoRNii and NATHAN M. LOWER, citizens ofthe United States, and residents of Bellevue,

in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented anew and useful Improvement in Couplers for Locomotivesl and Tenders, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention i'elates to couplings, and lparticularly to a coupleradapted for connecting a locomotive and tender.

In' locomotives, as usually constructed at the present time, it iscustomary to position behind the driving wheels of the locomotive a pairof idle Wheels known as a trailer.

These trailer wheels support the rear endv of the locomotive and carry avery large yproportion of the weight'thereof, in some cases asv much astwenty-ive per cent of the entire weight of the locomotive resting uponthe trailer. In fact, in ordinary locomotive construction so much of theweight is thrown upon the trailer that the breaking of rails isfrequently ascribed to this excess 'weight on these wheels. .On theother hand, bthe tender, while reasonably heavy, at no point throws anexcess-weight or an overload upon the track. For this reason, it becomeshighly desirable to transfer aA portion of the weight of thelocomotiveordinarily resting upon the trailer wheels to the wheels 'ofthe tender, thereby more evenly distributingthe weight of the locomotiveover, a greater extent of the rails aiideliminating the throwing of theexcess weight or overload upon any limited area.

It is an object of this invention to pro- 'vide' means for connectingthe locomotive and tender which will function to transfer 'a portion ofthe weight of ,the locomotive upon thetender, thereby relieving thesupporting rails of the excessive load normally concentrated over thetrailer wheels, and

vwhich will at the Sametime effectively join the locomotive and tenderfor traction purposes.

It is also an object of the invention to provide means 4for resilentlyand flexibly connecting the locomotive and tender so as to permitrelative free movement due to changes inthe positions of the partsoccurring during normal operation, and at the same time constantlytransfer a portion of the weight of the rear portion of the locomotiveupon a fixed part of the tender, prefi erably upon the buffer block usedin connection'with the tender.

It is a further object to provide means I of the character referred towhich is simple in construction, comprises comparatively few parts, `maybe economically manufactured, and which will not easily get out of orderduring continued use. f

These and other objects of the invention vwill more `fully appear whenvtaken in conjunction with the following description and the appendedclaims.

The single figure of the drawingsis a fragmentary diagrammatic view of alocomotive and tender with the coupling means forming the sub]ect 'ofrthis invention shown in section, the remaining portionsbeingy in 1elevation.

In the drawings, the locomotive as a whole is'indicated by the referencevcharacter L,

the tender used in connection therewith by the' reference character T,and the improved coupler for connecting the locomotive and tender by thereference character C. As lillustratechthe tender is equipped with anordinarysupporting truck the wheels of which are shown at 1, 1cooperatingv with the rails 2 of the track.` The rear portion only ofthe locomotive is shown, which portion-,is

supported by meansof the customary trailer wheels 3, ordinarilyrunningidle and serving merely to carry a portion of the weight of thelocomotive, as previously pointed out.

The rear portion of the locomotive frame is provided with the aperturedbosses 10', 11,

which vare conveniently spaced apart and arranged in substantiallyvertical alignment. f.

A coupling pin 12 is adaptedto cooperate with the apertures ofthebosses, the pin 12 extending completely therethrough,Y i being supportedby means ofthe head 13 which rests'upo'n the upper surface of the boss10. i The distance between the bosses 10, 11 `is substantially thesameas the thickness of the terminal bosslll` atene end of a draw bar 15,the boss kk14 Vhavingan aperture through which the pin 12 alsoprojectswhen -the parts are disposed in operative position,

as illustrated ,in they drawing.

The opposite'extremity of thedrawobar is likewise provided with a bosslwhich corresponds in constructionv to the boss lll, Y.

and which is adapted to be pivotally connected with a suitableportion'of the tender frame by means of a coupling pin 17 which ipasses. through suitably formed apertures f contacts the lower side ofthe draw bar, and

is'equipped with a nut 25 at its upper extremity. A coiled compressionspring 26 vencircles the bolt and is disposed between the' upper surfaceof the buffer block 20 and Athenut 25, suitable washers being employedatthe ropposite ends of the spring. y

When the parts are disposed in operative position, asr illustrated inthe drawings, the

' compression of the spring 26 constantly causes an upward thrust uponthe bolt. 22, producing a consequent lifting action upon the draw bar 15which fulcrumsalround its l pivotal connection afforded by the couplingpin 17 T'he tendency of the draw bar 15 to rise due to the compressionof the spring causes an upward thrust at the extremity `of the ,"barattachedv to the locomotive, thereby `carrying and causing 4a portion ofthe weight of the locomotive to be trans,- 'ferred, due to itsconnectionwith the tender, upon the truck thereof. Transfer of a portionof the weight of'the locomotivein the manner explained, reduces thatnormally concentrated upon the trailer wheels 3,

'transferring the same upon the supportingv Wheels 1, 1 ofthe tender,thus more effectively distributing the entire weight over an extendedareaA of thetracks.

" D ue to the particular combination and as,- sociation of the'severalparts, `a' portion yof the weight is constantly transferred to thetender, regardless of thevvertical movements of the parts, caused byvinequalities in the rails or'ofwthe road bed, and on account of theupward pull exerted by the spring 26 which maintains'the parts in suchrelative positions'as tofcontinuou'sly function in the desired manner.The association of 'the 'i .-partsalso permits relative movements whichnormally occur during thel operation, without interfering with thecontinual transference of the weight'from the rear part of thelocomotivetol the'tender, through vthe coupling mechanism described.

Itis kthus seen that the improved vmeans 'for coupling 'the locomotive.to the 'tender produces a simple, compact, and durable rangement of theseveral parts without dev parting from the spirit of the invention, andit is therefore not intended to limit the scopev of the invention beyondthat particularly pointed out and defined in the appended claims.

`We claim: 1 v Y 1. The combination of a locomotive and its tender, adraw bar connected at its opposite ends to said locomotive and tender,and means on said tender exerting an `upward pull on the end of the drawbarl connected to the locomotive whereby tolift the last named end fortransferring a portion of the weight ofthe locomotive uponthe truck ofthe tender. 'l

2. They combination of alocomotive and yits tender, a drawfbar pivotallyconnected at lits opposite ends to the locomotive and tender, andresilient means mounted on the tender engaging'an intermediate portionof the draw bary for exerting an upward thrust at its connection withthe locomotive whereby to transfer a portion of the weight of thelocomotive to the truck of the tender.

3. The combinationof a locomotive and its tender, a draw bar pivotallyconnected at its opposite ends to the locomotive and tender, said drawbarl being provided with an aperture intermediate its ends, a bolt the'head of which contacts the lower surface ofthe bar passing through thesaid aperture, 'a spring engaging a fixed part of the tender and saidbolt for urging said bolt upwardly tok lift the 'endl of the draw barconnected to the locomotive, whereby to permit relative movement betweenthe parts bolt passing through the said aperture, and

an'openlng formed in the bufferblock, said bolt having a head at itslower extremity contacting the draw bar and a nut at its upperextremity, a coil spring encircling the bolt and interposed between thebuflerblock and said nut, whereby to permit relative movementbetween-:the parts whiletransferring aportion ofthe weight of thelocomotive upon the tender.

5. The combination with 'a locomotive and its tender, a couplerconnected to said locomotive and tender, and means for exerting a pullon the said coupler Whereby to transfer a portion of the Weight of thelocomotive to the tender.

6. The combination with a locomotive and its tender, draft meansconnecting the locomotive and tender, and means operatively associatedwith the said draft means whereby to transfer a portion of the Weight ofthe locomotive through the last named means to the tender.

7. The combination with a locomotive and its tender, a bar operativelyassociated With the locomotive and tender' whereby to connect the saidlocomotive and tender for draft purposes, and means for urging the saidbar in a direction to transfer a portion of the Weight of the locomotiveto the said tender.

8. The combination with a locomotive andits tender, a draft baroperatively connecting the locomotive and tendeigand tension means forconstantly exerting a lifting effect upon the portion of the barconnected to the locomotive, whereby to transfer' a portion of theWeight of the locomotive to the tender.

In testimony whereof, we hereunto sign our names.

LONNIE E. OSBORNE. NATHAN M. LOVER. Vitnesses:

CHRISTIAN L. METZGER, JAMES W. MCCURDY.

